LeasePlan's Pitcher Announces Retirement

LeasePlan USA President and CEO Mike Pitcher has announced that he is retiring from the fleet management company (FMC).

In a short statement Pitcher made on his LinkedIn account about his retirement, he said: “This has been an amazing ride, and one that I will never forget. To the clients, business partners, and members of the fleet industry, thank you for the most amazing 14 years of my professional care.”

Pitcher had led LeasePlan USA since 2008. He joined the Atlanta-headquartered FMC in 2003 as senior vice president of corporate fleet sales. In that role he was responsible for fleet sales, sales administration, client relations, and services. He was promoted to executive vice president in 2005 responsible for the corporate fleet sales and operations departments. He was named president and CEO in 2008, taking the reins of the company from David Dahm who segued into the COO position.

Prior to joining LeasePlan USA, Pitcher was with Dell Financial Services (DFS) and Pitney Bowes. At DFS, Pitcher served as vice president of U.S. Commercial Sales, where he was responsible for more than $1 billion of annual lease originations. Prior to DFS, he spent 18 years with Pitney Bowes, holding various management positions, including two years as president and managing director of Pitney Bowes Australia, and vice president of the Asia-Pacific region.

Among Pitcher’s many accomplishments leading LeasePlan USA, was successfully navigating the Great Recession’s credit crunch, the successful implementation of a company-wide cell-phone ban, which he spoke about extensively to industry organizations, and the recognition by the Atlanta Journal Constitution of LeasePlan USA as a top workplace for its Atlanta and Chicago locations every year since 2010.

In 2016, Pitcher distilled his successful leadership principles into a book, Seven eLements of Leadership, which he identified as Laugh, Learn, Listen, Language, Lagniappe, Legacy, and Love. He wrote that these seven elements are essential for success.

After announcing his retirement, Pitcher wrote Automotive Fleet Editor Mike Antich in an e-mail that “I have grown to love an industry that I did not even know existed.”